I'm Home
by Lia06
Summary: Future Fic and totlly Detty...Daniel and Betty are married. Watch their relationship and family grow and evolve.


A/N: I don't own anything you recognize. This is my first _Ugly Betty_ fic; I hope you like it. It's pretty fluffy and it's a one-shot.

**Title: I'm Home**

**Rating: K+**

**Summary: Daniel and Betty are married. Watch their relationship and family grow and evolve. **

* * *

It has been said that some men get married, become a father, and fall in love. Daniel Meade was not one of those men. Seven years earlier, his father had hired Betty Suarez to be his new assistant so he would do something at work other than screw his assistant. He didn't know when it had happened but he had fallen in love with her. Two and a half years later, he had finally asked her out. A year and half after that, he asked her to marry him. Seven months later, they were married. After about two and half years of marriage, Betty had just given birth to their first child, a beautiful baby girl with dark brown hair and her father's bright blue eyes. Betty had held her daughter for about two hours before her husband had taken their daughter in his arms and not given her back yet. Upon meeting his daughter, he had fallen in love all over again. "And you're Daddy's little princess," he was saying. "You're the most beautiful little girl ever born."

"Daniel, darling," Betty found herself saying. "We need to give your little princess a name."

"You are so beautiful, little lady," Daniel told his daughter. "And you're smart and perfect. You have your mama's beautiful hair and ten perfect fingers and an adorable button nose."

Betty smiled. "Daniel, our daughter is perfect. But she needs a name. Do you have any suggestions?"

Daniel looked at his wife. "Betty, she looks like you."

She smiled. "Yes, I know, dear. But she has your eyes. And she needs a name."

"We could name her Betty."

"No, we will not name our daughter after me. We could name her Claire or Rosa after one of our mothers."

He shook his head. "I don't want to name our daughter after my mother. And no offense, but I don't like Rosa as a first name. It can be her middle name though."

His wife nodded. "So our daughter needs a first name but her middle name will be Rosa and her last name will be Meade."

"I thought we were going with Suarez-Meade."

Betty shook her head. "Just Meade is fine with me. But this baby needs a first name."

"What do you think of Ava Rose?"

"It sounds like a supermodel."

Daniel laughed. "What about Vivienne Rose?"

"It sounds like an old lady."

"Does Emily Rose work for you?"

Betty cringed. "We are not naming our daughter after the movie _The Exorcism of Emily Rose_. I want something that's classic and timeless but also unique. I want a name that has some pizzazz. She's a Meade. She needs a name that no one else will have. It can't be something that will get her made fun of. Do you know what I mean?"

He nodded. "What about Carmen?"

She shook her head. "No, it's too gender neutral. What do you think of Erica?"

"Nah, Erica Rose Meade doesn't sound quite right."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes looking at their beautiful little girl. Betty took the unnamed baby in her arms and looked at her. "This shouldn't be so hard. She's our daughter. We should have a name for her. Why can't we come up with a name for her? Daniel, are we bad parents? We bought a house for our new baby to live in but we can't even think of a name for her."

"What about Isabella Rose?" Daniel replied.

She smiled. "I like it. But Isabella is a really popular name right now."

"But I like the idea of using an Italian or Spanish name."

"What about Stella Rosa?" he suggested.

"I love it," Betty said. "Stella Rosa Meade, do you like that?"

The baby gurgled.

* * *

Four years later, little Stella Meade was running around her parents' house carrying a teddy-bear. "Mommy, where's Daddy? When will Daddy be home?"

Betty Suarez-Meade was in the nursery with her eighteen-month-old son, Javier Daniel Meade. "Daddy won't be home until tomorrow, sweetie. Tomorrow, I'll pick you up from preschool and then you, Javier, and I will go pick up Daddy from the airport."

"Will Danny come with us?" Daniel Meade's older son, who was now twenty and a student at NYU, was a favorite of his younger half-sister.

Betty smiled. "Dan has a class tomorrow afternoon but he promised that he would come over for dinner tomorrow night."

"Will he put me to bed?"

"I bet he will if you ask him nicely."

"Will he put me to bed tonight?"

"Sweetie, I'm sorry but he isn't here tonight. But I could call him and you two could talk on the phone before you go to bed."

Gianna crossed her arms across her chest and stuck out her lower lip. "I want Daddy and I want my Danny."

"Daddy is in Italy, Stella. He's sleeping there right now."

"Then can I have Danny?"

"Let me put Javier in his crib and then we can call Daniele so you can say good night to your big brother."

A few minutes later, Betty was in the kitchen with her daughter who was calling her brother. "Dan, will you please come over and put me to bed?"

Betty smiled as her stepson laughed. "I wish I could, Stella-bella, but I have a test tomorrow morning. And I'll be over for dinner tomorrow night and I can tuck you in then."

"But Daddy will be here and he can tuck me in."

"Well, then Mommy can tuck you in tonight."

Stella sighed. "Mommy's been tucking me in for the whole time Daddy's been gone. I miss Daddy and I miss you."

"Daddy and I will both be there tomorrow night. It's just one more night without us. You have Mommy, Javier, and Mr. Stephen with you."

Stella hugged her teddy bear, Mr. Stephen. "Mr. Stephen misses you too, Danny."

"Well, give Mr. Stephen a kiss from me and tell him I'll be there to put him in bed tomorrow."

"Do you promise?" Stella asked with a very serious look on her small face.

Just then Betty heard the front door unlock and then open. "Yes, I promise," Dan's voice said. Betty could hear him through the phone but she was almost positive that her stepson had also just come into the apartment. "I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Good-bye, Stella Rosa."

"Bye-bye, Danny," the little girl said before hanging up the phone.

Betty could hear movements in the living room and she was very curious as to who was walking around her apartment at nine o'clock at night. "Stella, let's go see what's going on in the living room," she told her daughter.

"Can Mr. Stephen come with us?"

"Of course," she replied. "I bet Mr. Stephen would love to see what we can find in the living room."

Betty, Stella, and Mr. Stephen made their way into the dark living room. "Is someone in here?" Betty asked with a shaking voice.

"Just a little surprise for the two most beautiful women on earth," a very familiar voice replied as the lights were turned on.

Betty screamed and her daughter dropped her teddy bear as the lights revealed Daniel Meade and his son, Daniel "Dan" Meade, Jr. "Daddy, you're home!" Stella screamed as she ran into her father's waiting arms.

Daniel kissed the top of his daughter's head and motioned for his wife to come closer. "Come here, darling," he said. "I've missed you."

Betty ran into her husband's open embrace. Dan took his little sister as his father and stepmother kissed. "Mr. Stephen misses you, Danny."

"Well, then let's go get him and talk to him."

Daniel and Betty watched as the twenty-year-old sat on the couch with his little sister and her teddy bear on his lap. "I think they really like each other," Daniel said.

"She worships the ground he works on," Betty told her husband.

"I know," he replied. "I heard the phone call."

"So how did you pull this all off?"

"Can we go see Javi and I'll tell you on the way?"

"Of course," Betty said with a big smile overwhelming her face. Her husband had his arm around her shoulders and she was leaning into his body as they walked.

"I was done in Milan yesterday and while everyone else was out drinking and schmoozing, I just wanted to be here with you, Stella, and Javi," he said. "So I found a flight that landed in New York around seven-thirty tonight and I called Dan to see if he could come pick me up from the airport. He doesn't have any classes tomorrow, so he said he would pick me up and then bring me over here. He's planning on spending the night, so he can take Stella to preschool in the morning."

"And what are you going to do in the morning?"

He smiled. "Spending some time with my beautiful wife, or maybe we'll be enjoying breakfast in bed."

She picked Javier up out of his crib and handed the little guy to his father. "He missed you."

Daniel kissed his son's forehead. "I've missed him too." He held his son against his chest and smiled as Dan walked in with his little sister in his arms.

"Mommy, Daddy and Danny are home!" Stella said reaching out her arms for her mother.

Betty took her daughter in her arms and kissed her stepson's cheek before leaning against her husband's chest. "You're home," she said before kissing his chest.

* * *

Several years later, the Suarez-Meade clan was gathered for Stella's graduation from NYU. Dan Meade was now thirty-six years old, married with a young son, and working at Meade Publications. Javier Meade was nineteen and had just finished his sophomore year at Harvard. Jonathan Meade was seventeen and the spitting image of his father. Caroline Meade was twelve. And the "twin surprises," Annabelle and Norah were three and a half. Daniel and Betty would soon be celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and the world, including Fashion TV, was stunned that their relationship had lasted two years, let alone twenty-five years and six children. Of course, the couple had never planned on having six children. Jonathan was twenty-seven months younger than Javier, born nine months after his father's surprise early return from Milan. Then, Daniel and Betty decided they were done having children until Carrie came along about nine months after Daniel and Betty went to the Costa del Sol for a week alone. And then Annabelle and Norah were born after a similar vacation to St. Tropez nine years later.

Dan Meade's wife frequently admitted to loving her husband's family. "It's so warm and loving and affectionate. Someone's always cooking and people are talking and they hug everyone," Madison Meade had told a friend once. "They are the most affectionate, happy family I've ever met." Dan and Madison frequently brought their son, Joshua, over to visit his grandparents and aunts and uncles. There was no denying that Betty had brought a level of love and affection into the Meade family that hadn't been seen prior to their marriage. The Meade family had always been powerful and aggressive but never close and loving. The little Latina spitfire had warmed up a family that had been icier than the color of Daniel Meade's eyes. Alexis and Claire weren't always understanding of the things that Daniel's family did. But they had come to appreciate the affection and warmth with which they were received on any visit to Betty and Daniel's house. And Alexis had learned that many a tense situation could be eased by meeting people over coffee and offering them a warm smile and actually listening to what they had to say. She was starting to realize that family really was more important than family and money and power.

Claire loved her grandchildren and her great-grandson. "There's something special about being able to hold someone in your arms and just know that they love you completely and totally without any regard for your past." She had said this while holding Norah who was busy playing with her grandmother's earrings and occasionally kissing Claire's face. Norah Claire Meade was possibly her grandmother's favorite grandchild. Norah had the lightest hair of any of Daniel's children and had her grandmother's eyes; in short, Norah looked the most like her grandmother Meade.

Ignacio's favorite grandchild was most likely Javier. Javi looked like his grandfather and had also inherited the older man's love of cooking, although he was studying journalism and political science. He wanted to be a great political journalist. But his preferred method of stress release was cooking large dinners or brunches for his family. He had learned most of what he knew from his grandfather and delighted in cooking with Ignacio. He also liked to do things like cook for family dinners. Occasionally when he knew that his parents were busy at work, he was cook them several meals when he was home for the weekend and then he would freeze them so that his parents and younger siblings would have something to eat during events like Fashion Week

Daniel was an overprotective father, as could be expected. Having once been one of the most notorious of New York's bad boys, he knew all the tricks that boys played with girls. And he wasn't about to watch his daughters get hurt. He'd hurt enough girls in his past and then, worse, he'd been forced to watch as men messed with _his_ Betty. How could they think that her emotions were toys? Why had she let men like Henry and Walter just walk over her like she didn't mean anything? So when he married her, he promised her that he would protect any daughters that they might have with the teeth of a tiger. When Stella was born, she wrapped her father around her tiny pinky. But Daniel swore himself a vow that he would never let anyone hurt his little girl. No one would find Stella or Carrie or Annabelle or Norah crying in the bathroom. He had to kiss and dry their tears. He was determined to solve their problems.

And while his daughters complained about his protective nature, they also appreciated finding their father waiting for them with a bowl of ice cream or a cup of coffee when things went wrong. Stella learned that Mom doled out great advice and Dad made great ice cream sundaes. Her senior year of high school she'd found herself in their bed eating hot fudge sundaes with them while pouring her heartbreak over breaking up with her boyfriend of almost two years.

And now Stella was graduating from college. Someday soon, she'd meet some amazing guy and get married. Daniel wouldn't be the most important man in her life anymore. He wouldn't be the first person she called when something was wrong. But he still had three more daughters. And while Carrie might be busy being a rebellious teenager who was always telling him how stupid he was, Annabelle and Norah both clearly adored him. They ran to him and jumped on him every night when he came home. They still wanted good-night kisses and bedtime stories. And no night was complete unless Daddy tucked them in. He was no spring chicken anymore; becoming a grandfather had convinced him of that forever. But having twin three-year-olds at home was keeping him young. "And," he told his wife that morning as they were getting ready for Stella's graduation. "I get more exercise chasing Annabelle and Norah around than I do at the gym."

Betty had laughed and kissed him. "Twins are keeping us in shape and they're keeping me young."

"I always thought that I was my job," Daniel had replied as he fastened a necklace around his wife's throat.

She stood on tip-toes and kissed his cheek. "No, you're supposed to keep me glowing and happy."

* * *

Twenty-two years later, Daniel walked the last of his daughters down the aisle. Norah Claire Meade was about to become Norah Claire Wyzinski. She was the last Meade child to get married. Daniel and Betty had twelve, almost fourteen, grandchildren. Carrie was due in two months and Jonathan's wife was due near Christmastime. Daniel was in his seventies and had pretty much retired from the magazine business. Alexis had died a few years earlier leaving Daniel as the CEO of Meade Publications. He loved his job but he much preferred the role of doting grandfather to working. Betty frequently walked into her husband's office to find him playing with one of their young grandchildren. One day during the children's summer vacation, she found him teaching Stella's eleven-year-old son, Mark, how to edit an article. Another time she found him teaching Dan's sixteen-year-old son, Christian, how to arrange a magazine layout. Other times she found him with his younger grandchildren on his lap. One day she found him sitting on the floor with several of his young grandchildren, just playing Candyland.

As Norah and Jack exchanged vows, Daniel saw tears sliding down his wife's cheeks. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his body. "Our house is empty now," she whimpered into his chest.

"Honey, we have a lot of furniture," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled and snuggled closer to his body and he kissed the top of her head. He realized that they'd been married for over forty years. No one ever would have predicted that he, Daniel Meade, could make a marriage work for four years, let alone forty. People might have foreseen him having seven children, but they would have assumed them all to have been conceived the same way Daniel Jr. was. They would have been the result of random one-night stands. No one would have ever predicted that he would be married to the same woman for over forty years and she would be the father of six of his children. But he had defied the odds. He and Betty had made their marriage for the past forty years. And if he could do it all over again, he'd do it in a heartbeat. He loved this woman. He loved their children. He loved their grandchildren.

When his father hired Betty, he was trying to keep Daniel from sleeping with his assistant. Well, she might not be his assistant anymore but Daniel had been sleeping with Betty, his wife, for the past forty years. They had six children and several grandchildren. And while none of those children lived at their house anymore, that was their home. It was the Meade family home. And there were still two Meades living there although Daniel and Betty were talking about moving someplace smaller and letting one of their children move into the house they'd bought when Stella was born.

* * *

"Daniel, we have to move out," Betty told her husband the morning they moved out of their house to make way for Jonathan and his wife and children. "This house is too big for us. I feel like we could get lost here; there are just too many rooms."

Daniel kissed his wife's sophisticatedly silver hair. "I love this house. Do you remember the day we brought Stella here?"

"Do you remember how much trouble we had naming Stella?" his wife asked.

He laughed. "You were wondering if we deserved to be parents. How do you think we did after all?"

"We raised six wonderful kids. And Dan is a pretty great guy too. You've been a great father, Daniel."

"You're better mother."

She kissed him. "I love you."

"Ewwww, Daddy, come quickly! Grandpa and Grandma are kissing." Daniel and Betty turned to see Jonathan's seven-year-old son, Andrew, watching them from the doorway.

"Oh, don't worry," Jonathan said as he walked into the room. "Your grandparents are just two crazy old people who are in madly in love with each other."

"Oh, go shut up, Jonathan Rafael," Daniel said, throwing a tennis ball at his son. "We might be old but I'm still your boss."

Betty just laughed and kissed her husband again.

* * *

A/N: Please review. It's my first _Ugly Betty_ story ever, but I hope you guys like it.


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